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OKALOOSA ISLAND — If expectations of large crowds have kept you away from the beach this holiday weekend, worry no more.

The crowds just aren’t there.

• View photos from Beasley Park and Gulf Island National Seashore. »
• See how things were on The Boardwalk. »
  
• View photos of Crab Island. »
• View Destin photos. »
  

Fort Walton Beach resident Roxanne Herron was a bit hesitant to take her family to Beasley Park for the second year in a row.

As they left a relatively quiet Navarre Beach to test the waters at Beasley, Herron told her husband they might have to go home if the crowd was anything like last year.

She was surprised at what she found.

“The crowd isn’t as bad as it was. Last year, it was ridiculously packed. This year it’s not,” Herron said. “I know it has a lot to do with the oil but the water’s the same.”

Gary Wise, beach safety director for Walton County, said he overstaffed lifeguards as he usually does Labor Day weekend.

“You know what, we could’ve run just regular staffing,” Wise said. “I talked to all my towers, all my people, and they said it was just another summer day.”

Wise talked to area resorts at the start of the weekend. “They were only at somewhere at 65 to 80 percent booking so it appears to be a normal weekend,” he said.

Wise reported calm waters as well.

“But we still want people to exercise caution and not try to swim out to the second sandbar or beyond their abilities,” Wise said.

The Okaloosa Pier was an exception to Sunday’s small beach crowds.

“I don’t know about last year, but this is the busiest time we’ve had all year,” said Ron Ray, an employee at the pier. “Not even the 4th was this busy. This is like no other.”

Even at the pier, the crowds did not hold all weekend. Ray said Friday and Saturday were slow but Sunday made up for it.